Two non-Indian parents filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the state of Minnesota from transferring Indian child custody cases to tribes.

The parents are suing Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper as well as Scott County. They allege the defendants violated state and federal law, including the Indian Child Welfare Act, by transferring cases involving their children to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

"Time and time again, we see the member parents being preferred over the non-member parents in tribal courts," attorney Erick Kaardal said at a press conference on Tuesday, The Prior Lake American reported. "The tribal courts prefer Indian relatives to non-Indian relatives. That's a discrimination."

The parents, though, are not suing the tribe, which could raise issues of sovereign immunity. The complaint, which was filed on Tuesday, merely lists the tribe in a section titled "Others."

"We believe in the fairness of our tribal court system, which has been in place for nearly 30 years. The community views these matters as personal and private and will not discuss them publicly," the tribe said in a statement to The Prior Lake American in response to the lawsuit.